Just rung equimins - won't let me buy meta balance

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thatsmygirl

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Iv rung to order a tub off meta balance and the lady on the phone wouldn't let me until I can speak to David as to weather I need it. I'm on advance complete but was told the meta balancer was better but the lady on the phone has told me they are questioning people now and not selling it unless David gives the say so as it was produced for IR horses only. Has anybody else had this? Will stay on the advance complete
 
I spoke to them about it a week or so ago out of curiosity and was told unless I had proof my horse needed then they would only sell me advance complete.
 
I had that the other week. I thought I needed the meta balance though looking at the barefoot/bad horn quality threads, but spoke to David and it seems my horse only needs the Advanced Complete as he hasn't tested positive for any metabolic disorder or specific deficiency (hasn't been tested at all actually).

It sounds like the Advanced Complete is sufficient.
 
Its through Reading on here and my trimmers advice was to put him on the meta balance due to the higher copper and zinc levels and no iron if I'm right. I had a good chat to the lady who was v nice and explained my trimmer had recommended it because off the extra copper and zinc but they feel to many people are using it that don't need to.
 
I emailed them about it a while ago & they said there was no such product! They listed 2 others they thought I might have meant but I can't remember now what they were.

I'm using their Advance Complete at the moment but I have to say I'm not 100% sure that whoever answers their emails is the most helpful person available!

As well as the above mentioned email I also contacted them when one of mine dropped off considerably after a month on Advance Complete despite the fact their marketing mentions an increase in topline, condition etc etc. I explained I was using it alongside a high oil supplement ( Outshine ) and the response I got was that it won't keep condition on a horse unless it's fed alongside micronised linseed. Whilst I realise Outshine & ML aren't quite the same thing I would think Outshine will keep weight on in just the same way as ML.
 
I did ask aswell why it wasn't on their web site and the lady said it was because the IR group had aproached them to make a supplement for them but was never ment to be sold as widely as it has been and wont go on the web site.
Oh well never mind.
 
It's easy to buy copper and zinc that you can supplement yourself if you need extra, I think as copper sulphate and zinc oxide iirc. In fact I think I got both from Equimins (or else on ebay). You just need to know how much to supplement, which your trimmer should be able to help you with, or someone who has trained with Eleanor Kellon. You'd only need a tiny amount, less than a teaspoon a day probably.
 
Just wondering why you wanted to use it instead of the ProHoof or ProBalance? I use these - I have used Equimins in the past (the Hoofmender), but find the ProHoof has worked wonders for my horse, growing out a quarter crack fantastically even through the spring grass splatty hoof period... it also has higher copper and no iron.
 
My lads a very fussy eater and it's taken me months to get him to finally eat their advance complete so thought the meta balance would go down ok instead off changing completely
 
thatsmygirl said:
My lads a very fussy eater and it's taken me months to get him to finally eat their advance complete so thought the meta balance would go down ok instead off changing completely
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Ah, I understand! You could contact Mel (the ProHoof lady) and see if she would send you a sample to see if he will eat it. I had to introduce it slowly, starting at a teaspoon and working up to the full big scoop over a week or so, and to start with we needed to add a few fibre nuts to the FastFibre. Now he eats a whole scoop in a bucket of unmolassed hay chop with a little FastFibre slop on top to damp it down :) The ProHoof smells exactly like the Hoofmender I used to feed, tbh... quite yeasty.
 
The ratios of copper/zinc/iron in the META balance were created after a bunch of nutritionally savvy barefooters harrangued poor Equimins guy into it.

It's a great product and it has been very successful - but it is not following the standard mineral balancing software and I *believe* they avoid blatantly advertising it on their website in case the EU Daily Mail types get wind of it and get funny about Equimins trying to poison horses :eek:

So it's an 'under the counter' thing ;)

I've heard before about the woman refusing to let people order it - but the guy is usually OK with it.
 
How strange. I've been very pleased with the Meta Balance for mine and haven't had any issues with it at all, they're looking much better for being on it then they were on a more comercial balancer. I will be due another batch next week. If they deny me it, then I will go elsewhere and I will tell them as such. It'll be a shame if they do as I really rate the product.
 
thatsmygirl said:
I had a good chat to the lady who was v nice and explained my trimmer had recommended it because off the extra copper and zinc but they feel to many people are using it that don't need to.
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Nobody can tell by looking at hooves whether a horse has a mineral deficiency or not. You need blood tests to do that

sonjafoers said:
!

As well as the above mentioned email I also contacted them when one of mine dropped off considerably after a month on Advance Complete despite the fact their marketing mentions an increase in topline, condition etc etc..
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No supplement/feedstuff can increase topline. They may well increase weight/condition but only correct work can increase topline/muscle.
 
'It's a great product and it has been very successful - but it is not following the standard mineral balancing softwar' do you mean that they are including higher levels than recommended normally then? If a product is safe to use then I would be very surprised if a company was not advertising it-this would ring major alarm bells with me! What's the composition of it do we know?
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Nobody can tell by looking at hooves whether a horse has a mineral deficiency or not. You need blood tests to do that
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Blood tests don't really help that much, is my experience. The range of "normal" in horse blood is so huge that your horse could well have an imbalance without a blood test making it clear. The best thing to do, if your horses hooves are not in brilliant condition even though you think you have everything right, is to test your forage, and supplement according to what is high and low in your grazing and hay.

Specific mineral imbalances cannot be identified by looking at feet, but the fact that there is likely to be a problem somewhere in the food can be. In addition to that, black horses that turn brown are very likely to be copper deficient and if local black cows are also turning brown, then the probability is sky high.

Equimins wouldn't even sell me copper when I told them that I already use it and was looking for the best supply. They aren't exactly the most helpful people in the world, I found.

Forageplus now have a general supplement on sale without the iron and manganese levels that cause problems in other mixes and with additional copper and zinc.
 
Yes, had the same response when I rang up to order metabalance after seeing a post from another HHO poster near me, I sent an email as requested to "David", my diet is a bit of a mix, and I was happy that my boy gets enough IRON from his Seaweed meal.
I have had no reply, a bit miffed, I tend to mix my supplements, and as he is not in "work" but is on old pasture, I am not too concerned about his diet, I like to try new things!!! Hooves seem more concave after using Laminator.
 
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I too tried to order some Meta Balance after seeing recommendations on here. David advised against it as it was only produced for Insulin resistant horses. I now have my boys on Pro Hoof and really happy with the product.
 
sunshine19 said:
I too tried to order some Meta Balance after seeing recommendations on here. David advised against it as it was only produced for Insulin resistant horses. I now have my boys on Pro Hoof and really happy with the product.
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It is a strange idea that they prevent people buying their own products, I used to correspond with Matt.
I won't buy it anyway as it comes only in large bags at £30 a shot, and i like to try a product for a month first.
 
If the retailer/manufacturer isnt jsut selling it to anyone then there is good reason. You need to speak to them about your horses needs and not just what a trimmer or people on a forum advise. You could seriously damage your horses health.
 
Iv had soil testing done on the horses grazing and copper is very low ( red level) on the results and zinc was ( Amber) on the results. Blood tests have been done on random horses through out the yard and all are low in copper. Hence why I thought meta balance may suit. But I can't test hay as I buy it in and it's all different batches.
 
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